Over the years Pete Davidson has become known for his huge collection of tattoos. Now, he's going through the process of removing almost all of his ink, a process he explained on a recent episode of Today.
The Saturday Night Live alum spoke about the "terrible" process while promoting his new animated movie Dog Man on the Friday, Jan. 31. According to the comedian, the removal is a lot more painful than getting a tattoo, urging everyone out there to think before they ink.
"It’s pretty terrible, so if anybody out there is watching and thinking about getting a tattoo, make sure you really want to get it," he told hosts Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin while pulling up his sleeve to show off the faded tattoos on his forearm. "It’s pretty gone."
When he was asked what inspired the decision to removed almost everything, Davidson said that getting sober and seeing himself more clearly was a big motivator.
"I got sober and I saw myself in the mirror and I was like, ‘Nah. Who that?'" he said during the interview. "I was like, 'I got to change it up a little bit.'"
Davidson spoke about his tattoo removal even further during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon earlier this week, once again emphasizing just how painful the process is.
"I've been burning them off," he told host Jimmy Fallon. "They're almost gone."
When Fallon asked if the process was painful, Pete replied without hesitation, insisting, "It's horrible."
"It's worse [than getting them]. They have to burn off a layer of your skin and then it has to heal for, like, six to eight weeks and you can't get in the sunlight," he explained, causing the crowd to gasp. "And then you've gotta do it, like, 12 more times."
He went on to joke, "So yeah, really think about that Game of Thrones tattoo you're thinking of getting."
Davidson also revealed that at one point he had "probably, like, 200" tattoos, saying, "Yeah, I was sad boy." But, now, he wants to "be an adult," which is the main reason he's going through the process of removing all but two or three of his tats.
The comedian first announced that he was beginning the tattoo-removal process in 2020, confirming the decision during a 2021 episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers. At the time, he said that his film career prompted him to pursue tattoo removal, making it much easier for him to land future roles.